Automatic cut-out fob electric signaling mechanisms



(No Model.)

J. F, MEHREN. AUTOMATIC GUT-OUT FOR ELECTRIC SIGNALING MECHANISMS. No. 494,787. Patented'Apr. 4, 1898.

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UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

JACOB F. MEHREN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE GAMEVVELL FIRE-ALARM TELEGRAPH COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., AND CHI- CAGO, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATIC CUT-OUT FOR ELECTRIC SIGNALING MECHANISMS.

sPEcIFIUATIoN forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 494,787, dated April 4, 1893.

Application filed January 8, 1892. $erial No. 24l i (N0 11105613 To all whom it may concern.-

' Be it known that l, J noon F. MEHREN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cool; and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Automatic Out-Outs for Electric Signaling Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates, more particularly, to an improvement in the class of automatic signal-boxes, such as the boxes for fire-alarm and police-alarm service.

A box of the class referred to commonly contains a signaling-wheel rotated by a train of wheels actuated by a spring or Weight and operated either by releasing the spring or weight, when it has been previously set, or by setting the same by turning or pulling a suitable lever connected with the winding shaft. The wheel-detail of the signal-producing device referred to represents only one of several forms thereof that may be used for my purpose. Whatever the form used, however, great difficulty is experienced in protecting the signalin -device against being impaired or disabled by lightning, or other abnormal currents. Hitherto it has been common to employ a shunt operating automatically to shunt the signaling device out of the circuit after it had been actuated to produce a signal; but such shunt has not, owing, probably, to imperfect contaot, been efiective in preventing lightning and other abnormal currents from passing through the signaling device and injuriously affecting it, either by fusing together the points of contact or burning them ed, in either case destroying the further usefulness of the device. Another difiiculty has been experienced from the same cause to the extent of so fusing the shunt as to prevent it from letting the signaling device into the circuit in operating the box.

My object is to provide an automatic cutout which will serve to effectually overcome the difliculties referred to.

For the sake of convenience I have selected, for illustrating my invention, a key-break signaling device provided with my improvement and including a main-spring shaft and spring for actuating the signaling wheel their relation to each other when the apparatus is operating. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the key-lever and contact-spring below it. Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line l4 of Fig. 1 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.

A is a signal-wheel, preferably of insulating material and formed with sets of peripheral teeth according to the particular signal the Wheel is designed to produce by engag ing, in its rotation, the hook-end no of akeybreak lever B, to depress the latter and thereby break its contact with a point r to which the main-line wire 19 leads, the other mainline Wire pleading to the lever, as shown. Between successive depressions of the key-lever B, it is broughtinto contact with the point r by the resilient action of a spring There is attached to the -key-lever contact r a spring 0, supported to extend, with relation to the key-lever B, as represented in Fig. 3.

C is an arm secured at one end to a rotary shaft n carrying a spring m, adapted to be set to actuate the clock-gear (not shown, but hereinbefore referred to) to rotate the signal wheel A; and at the opposite end of the arm C is a contact-bar Z adapted to contact with the spring 0, and, eventually, also with the lever B.

As represented in Fig. l, the apparatus is at rest, in its normal condition. The arm'C, owing to the normal tension of the spring m, is held, at its contact-bar Z, against the spring 0 and lever B, thereby maintaining the latter in its elevated position, the limit of which is determined by a rigid insulated stop k. As will be seen, in this position of the lever B it is out of contact with the point 'r, and the circuit is completed by way of the bar Z, from the lever B, to the spring 0. It, now, it be desired to operate the signal-box, the arm (3 is turned downward to the position in which it is represented in Fig. 2, for which purpose a crank (not shown) may be provided on an end of the shaft n; and thus turning the arm 0 likewise winds up the spring m. In this lastnamed position of the arm 0, the spring q exerts its resilient force to hold the key-lever B against the contact '1", whereby the hookend a: of the lever is brought into the plane I of the signal-wheel to be vibrated by the rotation of the latter, which takes place (in the direction indicated by an arrow) on releasing the arm 0, when the tension of the spring at returns it (in the direction indicated by the arrow upon the lever in Fig. 2), eventually to the position illustrated in Fig. 1, wherein it again raises and holds the lever B away from the contact 1", by bending upward the spring 0 toward its free end till it strikes the lever, and causes the circuit thus switched to be completed from the lever to the wirep through the spring 0.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that when the apparatus is in the condition represented in Fig. 1, any abnormal currents conveyed over the main-line can not pass through the signal-making points B and a" and destroy them, they being separated; and that such currents will pass by way of the connecting-hart from the leverB to the spring 0. And it will furthermore be apparent that, should currents, abnormal by reason of their strength or of an imperfect contact, fuse the lever B and spring 0 to the bar Z, no

on the part of the signaling device would ensue, because pulling or turning down thearm O to operate the box, will readily break the fusion andfree the key-leverB to enable it to be actuated by the signal-wheel A.

It will be noticed that, according to the construction shown and described, the first effect of the contact of the bar Zwith the spring 0 is to shunt the circuit previous to switching it, which shunting, however, is a mere incident and not a necessary though sometimes a desirable function. My purpose is, by the return-action of the arm 0, to switch the circuit and maintain, normally, the contacts rand B separate, whether the shunting takes place or not; and for mypurposeit need not, so that the construction may be such as immediately to effect the separation of the contacts r and B and thus the switchin g of the circuit without preliminarily shuntwhich I have shown andexplained it; nor to the exact details shown and described, which may be variously modified without thereby departing from my invention.

WVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A signaling device for an electric signalin g box, having in its circuit separable switchcontacts and separable signal-contacts, anda member operating directly on the switchcontacts to maintain themnorma-lly in mechanical contact with each other and operating directly on the-signal-contacts to maintain them normally out of mechanical contact with each other, whereby a circuit is normally established around the signal-com tacts, substantially as described.

2. In a signaling-device for an electric signaling-box, the combination with the signalwheel A and its actuating mechanism, of a lever B held, in the normal condition of the i device, out of engagement with the said wheel ;and permanently in the circuit, a spring 0 maintained normally in the circuit by the said actuating mechanism, and a contact 4' for the said lever introduced into the circuit by operating the said actuating mechanism and successively shunted in and cut out of the I'circuit by the rotation of the signal-wheel, substantially as described.

immediate or subsequent failure to operate I 3. A signaling device for an electric signal- ,ing-box comprising, in combination with the signal-wheelA and the spring-controlled shaft {'22 of its actuating mechanism, an arm 0 on the shaft, having a contact-bar Z, a lever B permanently in circuit and held, in the normal condition of the device, out of engagement at one end with the said wheel and extending, at its opposite end, into the path of the bar Z, a contact 1" in the circuit and from which the lever is normally maintained separated by the said bar, and a spring 0 in the circuit and extending into the path of the said bar, the whole being constructed and arranged to operate substantially as described.

JACOB F. MEHREN.

In presence of M. J. FROST, W. N. WILLIAMS. 

